Monday, 23 September 2013

Bye-Bye Blackberry

Blackberry, Blackberry, Blackberry. It looks like it's time for you to take a giant step away from the highly competitive smartphone market. Anyone remember when these things were the cool phone to have? That lasted all of 6 months.

4 or 5 years ago when smartphones were in their early beginnings and people had to deal with the horrible data plans that offered sub-3G speeds, Blackberrys were a viable option. So viable that the market loved their stock, and it enjoyed levels above $70/share. In 2011, it had a pretty solid run too since companies worldwide adopted the Blackberry as a cheap and efficient work phone for employees. But now with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Iphone 5, 5s, and 5c dominating the market, there's no room for the tiny screen and tiny keys that Blackberry offers. Their new smartphones haven't been cutting it. Blackberry failed to penetrate the consumer market, and that's the market where the money lies.

Just today, Blackberry was finally acquired by another company, Fairfax Financial Holdings. Blackberry received about $4.7 billion dollars, valuing them at around $9 per share. If Blackberry really thinks that now they are only worth 9 dollars a share, maybe Fairfax is making a mistake in acquiring them. Unless Fairfax completely changes Blackberry and starts producing smart"er"phones, it's near impossible to find a possible strategy that will work in the long run. Another major challenge for Blackberry is their lack of an App Store. Apps have improved everyday life and are a major key to creating a great phone. Since large amounts of people have already switched to Androids and Iphones, it will be hard to find developers to create apps for the Blackberry market.

In my opinion, it's time to say good-bye to our dear friend. Maybe offices worldwide can keep Blackberry afloat as a small company, but as consumers, there seems to be little that Blackberry can offer us.